Houston News

Case Dropped Against Dumpster Diving Homeless Vet

by By KTRH's Theran Nicholas

It looks like Houston will not be pursuing a case against a homeless veteran who was arrested for dumpster diving.

Attorney Randall Kallinen says the city has dropped its case against James Kelly. Kelly spent nine years in the navy and is now homeless. He was arrested for violating a city ordinance that prohibits "disturbing the contents of a garbage can."

Kallinen says dropping the case was the smart thing to do, "I believe it would be hard to win a jury trial when you're only accused of touching the contents of discarded waste."

The Houston City Council was scheduled to vote on abolishing the ordinance, but that vote has been delayed.